


Trusting Your Enemy

by Sargeosaurous_Rex



Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Antagonism, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Order 66, RebelCaptain May the Fourth Exchange, Slow Burn, Suspicions, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-04
Updated: 2018-05-06
Packaged: 2019-05-02 03:59:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14536167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sargeosaurous_Rex/pseuds/Sargeosaurous_Rex
Summary: Cassian is a fixer. He infiltrates the political and social arena of planets with potential Separatist leanings and generates enough sympathy to place Separatist leaders in place to break away from the near-dictatorship of the Republic.Jyn is former special forces in the Republic military, and is Saw Gerrera's second in command of the Rebels on Onderon, fighting the Separatist forces that have taken over the government.Pitted against each other in the midst of the Clone War, Jyn and Cassian agree to an uneasy partnership for the sake of saving innocent lives. But when Cassian begins to suspect the true allegiance of Dooku and the Separatist leadership, he and Jyn become caught in the cross-fire of Order 66 and the Empire’s takeover.Or, a Clone War AU where Cassian is a Separatist and Jyn is for the Republic. With appearances by Ahsoka Tano, Count Dooku, and a couple other Rogue One characters. Written for the Rebelcaptain May the Fourth Exchange. Based on the prompt “Jyn and Cassian in another Star Wars Context/Time”.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [estherlyon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/estherlyon/gifts).



> Written for the wonderful estherlyon for the Rebelcaptain May the Fourth Exchange! Inspired from the prompt "Jyn and Cassian in another Star Wars context other than their own". I hope you like it, it kind of became a beast of its own and isn't at all like my original idea for the plot. It's going to be about 5 chapters or so, I'm hoping to have regular updates until it's complete.

Jyn slowly shifted her weight to her left foot as she balanced on the wide window ledge outside a window of the second story of the Royal Palace. The heavy, humid jungle air made it feel like she was wrapped in a heavy wool blanket, and sweat trickled down her temples and down her spine. The weight of her pack filled with food required a bit of a different weight distribution and center of balance than what she was normally used to, and she tried to keep her focus on the goal of edging to the one window catch she knew was unlocked instead of the forty foot drop to the dark ground below. 

She was in a precarious position, balancing on a window ledge of the palace walls that served as the barrier between the Confederate forces of the Royal Palace of Onderon and the Republic backed rebel forces led by Saw Gerrera. The Separatists had re-taken the palace two days ago, finally managing to oust the Rebel forces, and the Rebels in answer had formed a blockade to starve them out instead. 

She blew sweaty strings of hair out of her face as she slowly shuffled closer to the unlocked window, keeping her weight as close to the humidity- slick wall face in front of her as possible. If she was caught by either side it would be disastrous. Saw would interrogate her as to why his supposed right-hand person was found trying to smuggle food into the palace when they were trying to win a war. And certainly any Separatist would kill her on sight, or worse, torture and interrogate her within an inch of forgetting her own name.

Jyn shoved those thoughts down. She was not going to be caught. She was the best of Saw’s forces, that’s why she was second in command. She slid the catch from the window and swung it open inward, wincing at the squeal of tired hinges. She dropped inside to a crouch before lunging behind a nearby column for cover to scan her surroundings. The climate controlled air inside started to evaporate her damp skin immediately, and the cool air was as good as taking a stim-shot. The long corridor was empty at this time of night- just as she had planned. From what she had surveilled, sentries only came down this corridor every twenty minutes or so, which left her ten minutes to get herself to the Royal Menagerie and the King’s children just through the end of this hallway and up one more level of stairs.

She re-positioned the heavy pack on her back, and made to stalk forward, but--

A large gloved hand jerked her head back, covering her mouth, and another twisted her arm behind her back in a stiff hold, one movement away from breaking the limb. 

“Look what we have here, a rebel, infiltrating the palace. A scout for an another push to take the building again? And this specific rebel too-- you didn’t think we would fall for your little stunt again, did you? What, no fake emissary this time?”

The words were hissed in her ear by a low voice, meant to intimidate, provoke her. Well, the arm hold had already spiked her anger. If their positions had been reversed, she probably would have been a lot more violent. She had, after all, been the one to start the siege by posing as an envoy of one of the local, powerful smuggling rings. The “concubines” she had brought as offerings had turned out to be a selective group of women from Saw’s rebels. They had taken over the entire palace within two hours after they had taken the Confederate backed King Sanjay Rash hostage. 

She tested his hold-- nope, no budging there. She wrenched her face to the side and he removed his hand so she could respond.

“I decided a on a little more subtlety this time,” she tossed back casually, trying to keep her voice even and low. 

She twisted her torso slightly to wedge her pack against him more firmly, forcing his hold slightly away from her body. His free hand came up to her shoulder to hold her in place, but before he could get an effective grip, she made her move. 

She pushed back against him harder with the pack, and as he was shoved further away she wrenched her arm out of his grasp, the hold ineffective with the distance. Jyn spun around to face him and drew her blaster, but he was just as quick. They were both facing the end of a barrel, a stalemate. 

Jyn narrowed her eyes. She didn’t have time for this. She knew he wasn’t part of the normal patrol, which meant she had about five minutes now until the next round passed through this part of the palace. He wouldn’t have been able to surprise her otherwise. Sloppy, Jyn!

She knew who this was-- the dossier intel had provided on the key players in the palace had labeled him as one “Cassian Andor”. It was suspected that he had orchestrated the initial Separatist takeover of Onderon, but very little could be confirmed about him or his place within Rash’s regime. That made him that much more dangerous, but she didn’t have many options at this point in her cursed, self-inflicted mission. His face remained blank, but his eyes were laser focused on her and her movements, the moonlight streaming through the windows illuminating eyes, a warm, caf colored gaze despite their current hardness. 

She had no explanation for what she did next. Perhaps she recognized some of the human beneath the soldier, the possibility of empathy in the depths of his eyes. Later, she cursed herself for taking the risk.

“If I told you this was a solo, humanitarian mission, taken on my own and not sanctioned by the Rebels, what would you say? If I told you the pack is only full of protein cubes, ration bars, and polystarch bread?”

His unreadable expression slipped for a moment, betraying his surprise, before he grew suspicious again. His blaster pistol remained aimed at her heart. “And why would you do that?” 

Jyn kept her expression neutral, ignoring the threat to her life, as she looked him evenly in the eyes. “It’s been a week since the initial takeover. I know no supplies have gone in. Food must be running thin, and I know there are six children in the palace, the oldest no more than thirteen.”

“What does it matter to you. I’ve seen that Saw has no concern for civilian life or the innocent.”

She let her blaster sights drop to his feet in a gesture of good faith and sincerity, another risk. “I know what it’s like to be hungry. And not all the rebels agree with Saw’s methods. Those kids don’t deserve to suffer for their father’s choices.”

His glare became searching, and as the moment stretched on, she feared she had inadvertently revealed too much. Her pacifist mother, dead before she turned ten, her brilliant but absent father, eviscerated as a war-mongering weapons scientist up and down the ranks of the Confederacy of Independent Systems, the Separatists. Explained and excused away by the Republic as a necessary evil while her family had a target painted on their backs for his choices.

He dropped the blaster aim to her knees, and he opened his mouth with a furrowed brow when--

Clack, clack, clack, clack.

The droid patrol would be coming around the corner any second. Before she could say anything else to try to convince him not to give her up, he had grabbed her arm and dragged her with him back behind the column, tucked out of sight in the shadows behind it and pressed against the wall. Kriff! This was the second time he manhandled her. Kriff again that he had been able to manhandle her at all!

His breath was hot on her face as he braced himself on the wall behind her as the droids marched past, the column hiding their presence as they scanned for life forms. She glared at him in his closeness. She did not appreciate being this close to an enemy when she wasn’t trying to kill them. Although, he wasn’t turning her into the patrol as a prisoner, so that was something, at least. Potential enemy then. Potential neutral party?

Even so, she clenched her teeth and gave him her best death glare ignoring the way his apparently hard, lithe form was pressed against her, his infuriating height requiring her to tilt her head back so her glare hit his face instead of his chest. He simply returned her glare with an even, neutral expression. Well, that was even more infuriating than his height.

The droids’ march eventually faded down the hallway as they moved to the lower levels, and she shoved him off of her. She brought her blaster up to his knee caps again wearily, while he blinked and slowly raised his arms to show her he was no longer planning to harm her.

“I could help you get them to safety.”

Now this piece of bantha-poodoo wanted to negotiate. He must have an angle of some sort. She didn’t doubt he might also want to help the royal children, they were part of his side after all, but this was not the type of man that gave something for nothing. Not in the middle of a siege, with her as his enemy. 

She crossed her arms. “Who’s to say I want to do anything more than make sure they don’t starve?”

“It seems to me that you’re already invested in their well-being. You wouldn’t supply food only to risk them dying. And besides, that would guarantee they don’t suffer for their father’s choices.”

Ah. He had picked up on that. Of course he did. Bastard. It was hard to pass up his offer though, even if this man had a different agenda. Still, making deals with the enemy, and particular this enemy was incredibly dangerous and might be one of the stupidest things she’s ever done. She would just have to be one step ahead of him, smarter, ready for him to try anything. Jyn just couldn’t stand to see the kids killed or hurt just because their father had ambition, had to drag them into his agenda. Those kids deserved a chance to live, a chance at life, not to die in a civil war they had no hand in causing

“Fine. We have an agreement then. I’ll deliver this food to them tonight and then we will have to come up with a plan to get them out.”

His mouth twitched with what she thought might have been satisfaction. “Cassian.” He stuck his hand out in the typical Core World fashion of new acquaintances. Aha, so she had been correct on his identity.

“Jyn.” She took his hand in a tighter grasp than what was strictly polite and squeezed his knuckles together as hard as she could, keeping her face in a bland smile. Polite, ha. His expression didn’t change, but she noticed a tick at his jaw. Gotcha. Maybe it was petty, but it brought her satisfaction to get a reaction out of him.

“We can meet back here at the same time tomorrow, I’ll show you a more secure location within the palace to meet. And I’ll keep the window open for you.” He quirked an eyebrow and one side of his mouth. Unbelievable, he was goading her.

“That’s fine. And what do you want in return for your, ah, assistance?”

His expression became open, eyes a bit wider, mouth slightly upturned. Jyn didn’t believe it for a minute. 

“Just my droid. He’s was at the spaceport at the time of the palace lockdown. I need your help getting him past the rebel blockade and into the palace.”

These Separatists and their kriffing droids. She was sure Ahsoka would be able to help place the younglings somewhere safe with a family in the Republic until extended family or other caretakers could be found for them. The Jedi always had contacts throughout the galaxy. 

“We have a deal.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So a note or two on the timeline for this story. Steela Gerrera has already been killed in another skirmish between the Onderon rebels and the Separatists. Ahsoka Tano hasn't left the Jedi Order yet. If you have any questions or if you're a bit confused, let me know and I'll try to address it!
> 
> We get to see Dooku in this chapter, and we will finally get to see Ahsoka in the next one (hopefully, that's the plan now at least). 
> 
> Friday night I thought this chapter was pretty much finished, and then I ended up writing about 1500 more words Saturday and Sunday after edits and such *shrugs*. But here you go, hope you guys like it!

Sanjay Rash was a fool and he was going to get them all killed. It had been difficult enough to set him up as the new, legitimate King of Onderon to align the planet with the Confederacy of Independent Systems, but keeping him in power was proving even more so. It was hard to believe this was the man Dooku trusted to rule the planet. It was difficult to stomach, frankly, and he hated the Republic more than almost anyone else. They preached democracy, equality, equal representation, but then they sent clone armies to the planets that dared to oppose them, or who wished to break away from their precious senate. No, they were a Republic in name only, a de facto dictatorship beneath, and weighed down by inefficient bureaucracy besides.

And Dooku had tasked him with orchestrating the the takeover of Onderon and the capital Iziz in favor of the Confederacy and the Separatists by getting Rash in power and gaining the public’s support. They had been so close to gaining autonomy over their own fate, and it was all about to slip through their fingers just because Rash was an incompetent, greedy puppet who had been distracted by an offering of women and Jyn Erso. Who had then proceeded to take over the palace, revealing herself as Saw’s second in command. 

Rash was ruled by his cock and not his brain, preoccupied by a soft body and a pretty face. Not that Cassian thought the woman was pretty. Or that she had a soft body. Kriff. In fact, the woman, Jyn, could probably castrate him six different ways in the space of two minutes, and he very much doubted her body was that soft, despite the apparent curves he noticed last night. 

Fark, Andor, get a hold of yourself, he silently cursed. He blamed it on the lack of a full meal since the blockade was put in place.

“Sir, if you could just send additional droid reinforcements, we would be able to launch a counter-offensive and at least push them out from the palace perimeter to lift the blockade.”

“We cannot spare the resources for a planet whose leadership is already all but overthrown,” Dooku’s holo image replied coldly. “You, Rash, were supposed to be responsible for aligning Onderon with the Confederacy for good, not losing after only six months in power to backwater, jungle rebels with little to no training.” 

“Sir, we actually have recent intelligence suggesting Saw’s rebels have had training from the Jedi themselves. We underestimated their capabilities and threat level,” Cassian interjected.

“Oh? The Jedi, there? Why am I just now hearing about this?”

“Sir, it’s been reported that the Togruta female in the rebel cell is a Jedi Commander. But we have no evidence that others have been here. I just received this information this morning from one of our contacts outside the palace.”

“Very well, leave her to us, Major Andor. If she is who I suspect it’s likely others have been counseling the Onderon rebels as well. I expect you to focus on the plan to break the blockade. Without reinforcements.” 

“Yes, sir. The plan is in development.” Even if it was likely a suicide mission.

“That will be all then, Major,” Dooku waved a hand to dismiss him from the room.

As the door slid shut behind him, Rash’s and Dooku’s voices became muffled as they resumed the conversation. Cassian had always struggled with the idea of the Jedi. He had never directly encountered one in any of his past missions for the Separatists on other planets, but he knew abstractly that they were the enemy, the commanders of the Republic’s clone armies. 

But when he was a child on Fest, his parents had told him tales of the Jedi. He suspected most children heard stories of the myths and legends of the powerful peacekeepers, but that was the problem. Where previously they held the role of peacekeepers, they were now actively involved in enforcing Republic rule on planets who wished to be independent. Like Fest. 

The fact that one was here, now, aiding the rebels was troubling. There were rumours throughout the Separatist forces (those who were actually sentient, instead of droids) that Count Dooku was a former Jedi himself, but Cassian had always been uncomfortable in Dooku’s presence the few times he had actually met him in person. There were times Dooku cruelly slaughtered Republic sympathizers, and even put Separatist leaning citizens in the line of fire for the sake of a win. If the Togruta Jedi was anything like Dooku, the had much to fear for indeed. 

“...Empor...will not stand for….Rash. Your weakness...system at risk…….edge of consolidating...power. It...this week….”

He froze, then pivoted sharply from the door and stalked briskly down the hallway, fighting the hot, stabbing suspicion of betrayal. Rash was a necessary tool (fool, that is) to free Onderon, but Dooku speaking of consolidating power instead of re-distributing it back to the people was alarming. He forced himself to calm his breathing and steady his heart rate as he walked, shoving down the emotion and focusing on the logic. He had enough experience in intelligence gathering, even if this was inadvertent, to know not to leap to conclusions. 

He trusted the Confederate leadership, to the extent that he trusted anyone. They were all working for a galaxy free from the Republic’s iron fist of control, and he believed in the cause with all his being. He had done horrible things to ensure the beings of each planet had the opportunity for self-determination, to control their own lives. The opportunity for autonomy, not to just be told what to do by some system. But he never followed anyone blindly, least of all someone he knew had less qualms with senseless killing and manipulation than he did.  
He clenched his teeth against a wave of gnawing hunger rolling through his belly. He would do what he did best. He would wait, and he would watch. He would gather intelligence, then act in the best interests of his cause.

+

“Kaytoo, come in Kaytoo.”

It had been several days since he had last been in contact with his droid. Communications were only secure if they were taken over Dooku’s secure comms frequency, otherwise, there was a chance the rebels could tap the channel.

“Cassian, what updates from the palace? Have you all starved to death yet?”

“Not quite,” he answered with a roll of the eye. It was hard to believe he had managed to reprogram Kay with a personality that included sarcasm. “Listen, I think I’ve found a way to get you into the complex. What is the status of Sunshine?”

“It is the same height, weight, and chemical composition as the last time you asked.”

“The rebels have not searched the ship?”

“No, they believe it to be an unoccupied freighter and your encryption has held. They seem to think the owner has just been delayed by the invasion of the rebels. I do however calculate that there is an 85% chance they will commandeer it for their own use within the next two days if it is not claimed and moved.”

Kriff, that’s wasn’t long. “I’m going to need more time than that, Kay. Next time the port master and customs is doing rounds, make yourself known and provide the Republic scandocs. They may not be the most air-tight, but it will buy us some time. I need at least three days to lay the groundwork with my contact.”

“Do I even want to know your plan? Must I remind you that human displays of empathy at inopportune times puts your person at greater risk?”

Kay’s voice modulator always managed to sound indignant on his behalf.

“It’s necessary, and it’s the only way I can get you into the palace. And I only ‘display empathy’ as you call it, when it furthers the mission.” 

“That is statistically and objectively false, Cassian.”

“I’m not having this argument with you right now, Kay.”  
Cassian lowered his voice as he began to make his way to the second story window to meet Jyn. “Stay on low power mode Kay, but stay on standby. Once the pieces are in place we will need to move quickly for this to work. Over and out.” 

Kay answered with two clicks of the comms unit in response. He still had about ten more minutes before he met Jyn, so he took a meandering route to seem less purposeful. It needed to seem like this midnight walk was more a product of boredom, stuck in the palace with limited options. 

The droid patrols weren’t due for another thirty minutes, so there should be time to meet Jyn and then get to a more secure location. He settled himself in the darkness behind the column to wait and tried to ignore the way the inaction seemed to enhance his hunger pangs. 

Right on time, the transparisteel panes began to slowly swing inward, before a boot, then a leg and hips and the rest of her body contorted itself through the small opening.

He darted forward and grasped her arm before she was fully through the window.

“This way, hurry. Stick to the edges on the left side of the hallway, those are the blind spots in security.”

She wrenched her arm back and tossed her pack to the side to re-situate it on her back. “Yes, I’m aware. I’m the one who infiltrated the palace in the first place, remember?” she hissed. “Where are we going?”

He ignored her jab about the infiltration. “Somewhere we can speak freely. Just follow me and stay close.”

Cassian strided through the hallways, taking a left, a right, two flights of stairs. A pause and a stiff arm holding Jyn back as they almost stepped out into the middle of a droid patrol. Whipping around to press a hand to her mouth to prevent her from protesting audibly and giving away their position, moving back into the shadows of the room behind them. Ignoring the softness of her lips beneath his hand. He was ignoring it, fark it. Surging forward again, down another staircase, entering the lower basement levels now. Finally reaching a nondescript door, keying in the code quickly and pulling her in after him. 

“What is this place?” she asked, glancing around curiously. 

He’s almost surprised at the lack of hostility in her voice. It made her sound much younger, and for a moment he wondered her age; he had pegged her in her late twenties, around his age, but now he wasn’t so sure. Then he wondered how it was possible that she didn’t recognize a kitchen, even a large, almost industrial size kitchen such as this one. With a Coruscanti accent such as hers, he had assumed she had experienced luxuries typical to the citizens of the Republic on the Core planet. He supposed it was possible she had a cooking staff, and no need to enter a kitchen. 

He made a note to take a closer look at any intel they had on Jyn Erso.

“These are the palace kitchens. Guaranteed to be empty when there’s no fresh food to be cooked. That along with the fact that your rebels expelled the servants and waitstaff makes this the best place for us to meet. Ration stores are kept under security to ensure no one steals them on the other side of the building.”

He examined her for a moment, and she broke his gaze, dropping her pack and rifling through its contents. 

“Here.” She held out a ration bar slowly and avoided his eyes. “It’s not much, but you’ll be able to focus a lot better on planning if you’re not hungry.”

Again, she’d surprised him, and he quickly fought to keep his face blank. He didn’t let up on his stare, and he didn’t reach to take the ration. He couldn’t understand why she was being cooperative, and a more naive (innocent, his mind supplies) person might attribute it to kindness. Cassian didn’t. As the enemy, she must have some sort of angle here. 

“Why.” It’s not quite a question when it comes out, just falls like a statement, flat and without inflection. Like if he lets her see how much he actually wants, needs sustenance he might break and shove it in his mouth like a wild rancor with a fresh piece of meat, and the rest of what she has in her pack besides. And he knew she had more food in her pack, on her person for the children. 

“I know what it looks like when you’re so hungry you can’t concentrate. I know what it feels like.”

She had mentioned almost the same thing last night, and he noticed she was giving up information she didn’t need to. Not such a luxurious Coruscanti upbringing then. But then again, she could be trying to build rapport with him, create empathy, a shared experience. So she could be lying, and skillfully, or she had been hungry once. Well, so what, so had most of the galaxy, incidentally more concentrated on planets that were trying to break away from the Republic. Imagine that.

But fine. He could use this, regardless of her reasons. He was hungry. 

He slowly took it from her, and deliberately peeled the wrapper away precisely along its seams. Took a neat bite. Promptly suppressed a groan of relief and forced himself to keep his bites steady and achingly polite, not shoving the whole thing in his mouth at once. 

She nodded at him, and turned to examine the large kitchen while he finished it. His stomach finally satisfied, if not full, he motioned for her to follow him to the corner of the large room. Even if the place was empty and likely to remain so, he didn’t like the feeling of being in the middle of a room. 

Jyn seemed to appreciate having at least one wall at her back as well. Her arm grazed his and she settled against it next to him, and he refused to notice the goosebumps that his traitorous body provided in response. He tried to subtly step to the side to put more space between them. That was one distraction he did not need.

“Ok, so firstly, we need to plan out the route we’re going to take with the kids. Is there an exit you have in mind?”

“I have that covered. I told you my droid was held up at the spaceport? Well, he’s posted on my freighter. It can fit the children, and possibly one or two others, in addition to the pilot. The roof has a landing pad for the king’s personal cruiser, it was offworld for maintenance at the time of the blockade.”

“So we evacuate the children to the roof, your droid somehow flies your ship without being seen by our patrols, lands on the roof, your droid stays here with you, and we somehow find a pilot to fly them to safety?” She said all this incredulously, blowing her fringe out of her eyes as she turned to look at him. “That simple, huh? Well, where the kriff are we going to find a pilot that both you and I are going to agree on? Someone we can both trust, that will take care of those kids? And I’m supposed to believe you’re just going to let some random stranger, a pilot who is probably affiliated with the Republic, take your ship off into the sunset?” She snorted. 

This was not going as smoothly as he had wanted. Infuriating woman. “Why do you care so much? Why do you care about what happens to these children anyway, the children of your enemy?” he pressed. “As long as they are off this planet and headed to safety, your moral obligation will be met. You can leave the details to me, I just need you to get the ship past your rebel patrols.” 

She threw up her hands in frustration. “I’m not a fool! Don’t think for one second I believe you are doing this out of the goodness of your heart. If we’re going to work together I’d appreciate it if you didn’t treat me like an imbecile.”

“It may surprise you,” he answered sarcastically, “but I am actually willing to use my ship to and do what needs to be done to rescue those children. No one else seems to be worried about them, what this war is doing to them, how evil it is.” 

He couldn’t help the sincerity that leaked through his tone; he was trying to stay detached, but regardless what he might be getting out of this deal, he had no wish for the Rash children to be caught in the crossfire of this civil war. Starving, held hostage, possibly becoming bartering chips and prisoners. He wished there had been someone in his own childhood that would have cared that much, taken a risk for him like this woman, his supposed enemy, was. 

Jyn let out a sigh and brought her fingers to rub at her temples, closing her eyes briefly. “Fine, but there’s still the problem of the ship and the pilot. I assume you will want to get the ship back somehow?”

Funny enough, the fact that she was being so difficult about it, questioning each of his suggestions, showing that she actually cared enough about the details and the logistics of the plan slightly eased his suspicions. Not fully, but it at least proved that she was as committed to this as he was. If this was a trap, it’s likely she would have been much more cooperative and agreeable. At least, if he was laying a trap, that’s what he would have done.

“We should try to find a neutral pilot, someone who is not aligned to either side. And as for the ship, after they escape they can drop it on Takodana. It’s a neutral planet, and I have contacts there who will allow me to keep the ship at port until I can retrieve it myself.”

Cassian watched as Jyn considered this carefully. In the darkness of the deserted kitchen, it was difficult to read her expression, but when she turned her eyes back to his face, he had to swallowed a breath that would have given him away. The dim, blue light from the hallway filtered in from the windows near the ceiling, framing her eyes with the strip of light. How had he never noticed such green depths? The color of pine needles after a snowstorm on Fest, the few trees that were left on the mining-stripped planet, with a gold ring around the pupil. Now that she seemed less likely to take a vibroblade to his kidneys, he had to concede to himself that while Rash was an idiot, it was easy to see how this woman had captivated him to the point of allowing a coup to happen in his own throne room.

He thanked his luck that the darkness was hiding his expression now too, and shoved such ridiculous thoughts away to focus, Andor!

“I’m familiar with Takodana.” She answered slowly. “That could work. Also, I think I know a pilot you might agree to. He’s civilian, a commercial contractor who happens to be in Iziz right now.”

“And he doesn’t have any sympathies one way or the other about the Republic or the Confederacy?”

“Not that I’m aware of. I’ve even had arguments with him about it but he doesn’t really have any opinions about it as long as he is able to keep piloting to support his mother and sisters.” 

“Good then” Cassian pushed off the wall and began pacing in front of her. “Make contact with him to see if he would be willing. Tell him he will be paid for his efforts. Do you trust him?”

“I trust him enough. I’ve worked with him before and he’s never let me down. He would want to help too, once he hears what it’s for. Once they get to Takodana, there are programs in the Republic for refugees and children. And I can talk to Jedi Commander Tano to see if she has any recommendations.”

His anger rose like bile. There was no way he could allow that, allow them to fall into the custody of the farking Republic.

“I’m not letting them go into some Republic program,” he hissed. “You may as well dump them in the slums of some Core World and tell them to fend for themselves. Your precious Republic won’t care what happens to them, and they’ll care even less than usual because they are the children of a Separatist Leader. There could even be active negligence.” He ran his hands through his hair and pulled in agitation. “No, it’s out of the question.”

“That’s ridiculous! If they are specially entrusted, with immunity as children, they will be well taken care of! I would see to it myself! The Republic would not allow--”

“The Republic took me away from my mother when I was just six! After my father died in a mining explosion extracting minerals for the Republic, they decided my mother was unfit because she didn’t have enough money or means to support a family after my father’s death.” 

He took one stride to her, his boots toe to toe with hers, and bent his neck so his face was less than a hand span away. In his fury, he had an unexplained need to make her understand, to tell her what her Republic had done, to tarnish her view of it as a shining, perfect image. To make sure those kids wouldn’t share the same fate. He knew he was giving too much away, showing too much emotion, but he couldn’t stop himself.

“A Republic program put me in a group home, living in poverty and in dirt until it was finally shut down and we were turned loose on the streets. My mother died with a knife in her back after being mugged in the street. My little brother, one of the youngest in the home, got sick not long after they took us there, and died of pneumonia. The Republic would allow it, and those righteous politicians in the Senate wouldn’t give a damn.”

There was silence but for his harsh breathing. She was frozen in front of him against the wall, eyes wide in surprise and slight shock. She opened her mouth once, closed it. Swallowed, opened it twice to try again. He closed his eyes against the pity he knew was forthcoming, no longer bent close and furious in her face but standing rigid and straight, refusing to back away and show further weakness.

“That was wrong, Cassian,” she said softly. “That should never have happened. A parent who loves and wants their child should always be able to keep their child.”

He felt a light touch on his upper arm, and his eyes flew open at the sound of his name and the warmth of her hand through the light material of his shirt. He had expected some sort of justification and defense, or even derision. But she wasn’t looking at him with pity or standing ready to argue. Instead, there was something of a sad understanding in her eyes. 

She pulled her hand back, and he cursed himself for feeling the lack. She continued on.

“We can find somewhere safe for them. Whether it’s a temporary safehouse or a more permanent caretaker, it will be something we both agree is best. Something outside of the Republic system.”

He nodded in agreement, clenched and unclenched his hands, cleared his throat.

“I’ll see if the King has any extended family on other planets, and if they would be safe with them.” He glanced at his chrono. “I think we’ve gotten far enough in the planning for one night.”

“We need to get them out as soon as possible, let’s meet again tomorrow night to finalize things and push to execute in three days.”

He assented, and she picked her way around the large cook stations in the dark towards the door they came through.

“You should come with me to give this food to the children. They need to feel comfortable with you, trust you. At the very least recognize that you are a friend.”

He snorted. “Trust? When we barely trust each other?”

She turned back toward him, one hand on the door control panel. She crooked one corner of her mouth up in a wry smile, and hitched up her pack. 

“Well, trust goes both ways.” 

She tossed a packet of starch bread, and as he caught it almost on instinct, he supposed he was lucky it hadn’t been a grenade. It struck him at once how strange of a situation they were in. If not for this uneasy truce, they would be on opposite sides of a war, and he would have been blown to smithereens because there would be no question of her tossing an explosive at him. Instead, she was throwing food at him, which would keep the hunger pains away for at least another day. He wondered if she realized the significance of a person who provided sustenance to a starving man, a former starving street urchin. Trust indeed. 

“Lead the way then, Jyn.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you can find me on tumblr at sargeosaur.tumblr.com if you want to talk about fandom things! :)


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